After going live with Kishore Biyani’s Big Bazaar last month, mobile payments and e-commerce portal, Paytm is planning to open at least 100 offline stores online, ahead of festive season.
The marketplace says they are planning to get a mix of fashion, food, electronics and home stores categories on its platform. They are in touch with retailers like Samsung, Acer, Hometown among others.
“The plan is to bring at least 100 offline stores on our platform as it is a fantastic opportunity to create an integrated mobile first, Omnichannel retail and payment solution for our wide consumer base. Moreover, since the products are being delivered by your nearest store, it considerably shortens the supply chain,” says Founder and CEO, Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
The company recently hived its e-commerce and payments bank businesses into two separate companies, to independently raise money from investors.
It recently raised Rs 400 crore from MediaTek due to which the valuation of the company more than double to over $4.8 billion.
READ MORE: Omnichannel universe: Beyond clicks vs bricks
The company has also recently got the payments bank license, its ambitious plan to make India a digital economy. Paytm had earlier hinted Diwali launch for the payments bank but Sharma said it will be launched post-Diwali.
“We are in the final leg of approval for our payment banks launch as strategies and technologies are in place but we are awaiting the final note from the Reserve Bank of India before announcing the final launch date,” says Sharma.
Paytm was one of the eleven firms to get an in-principle note to start a payments bank in India in August 2015.
Must Read